


Iron Man: Legend of the Seven Seas

by BrightEyesIllusionist



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Arc Reactor, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Magic, Pirates, Sinbad AU, Swords, Thief Tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 02:05:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19075276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrightEyesIllusionist/pseuds/BrightEyesIllusionist
Summary: Tony Stark is a black hearted pirate who ran away from home years ago. His latest target? The legendary Book of Peace which maintains the treaty between the kingdoms. But the God of Chaos has other plans for the book, and yet more for the black hearted pirate.





	1. Target

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rowantreeisme](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rowantreeisme/gifts).



> This is a Marvel X Sinbad AU. It was super fun to write and I was so excited to get this prompt for the WinterIron Spring Fling! I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
All was not well in the realm of the Gods.

“Admit it, Brother! The mortals worship me more than they ever have you!” Thor raised his glass, allowing the froth to slosh over the side and over his fingers. His bright, blue eyes slightly unfocused so they did not see the utter rage filling his brother’s gaze.

“I dare say not, Thor.” Loki returned. His voice was calm, but the wood of the table under his grip was groaning under the pressure. “If anything, the mortals hold far greater respect for me then they do for you. Chaos is an ever present threat in any life.”

“Ah yes, but it has been peaceful in their world for far too long. They have forgotten your Chaos. Decades have passed since the last war! Their only concern for you is whether they shall find a matching pair of socks in the morning!” Thor laughed at his own joke.

Loki sneered. “I could pull one string and that peace would fall apart instantly!”

“Then prove it! Let us have a wager! You pull your ‘one thread’ and let us observe what happens. If, indeed, the realms fall to your Chaos and to war, I shall concede that they still honor you and that it is well earned. If they don’t, you shall announce that mine is the greater power.”

“Alright, brother.” Loki gripped his eating knife and balanced the tip on the table, digging into the wood. “I shall play your game, and you will finally know the power of chaos. Balance is a precarious thing.”

Loki swept out of the room, the knife still balancing on its point until the door shut quietly behind him. The brief draft of air from the closing door wafted through the room until it reached the knife and caused it to wobble, then tip over against Thor’s glass. The material shattered and allowed the liquid to spill across the table and onto Thor’s lap.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Alright crew!” Tony called, his voice ringing over the deck. Everyone turned to look at him. “This is it! The big score we’ve all been waiting for!” He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “After this, we retire!”

His announcement was met by an enthusiastic cheer. He grinned and turned to look ahead of the ship at their target. 

“Retire?” His best friend and helms man, Rhodey, walked up next to him.

“That’s the plan.” Tony looked over at Rhodey, who shrugged. “You don’t think so?”

“Eh. I’ve stopped believing you after the first six times you said it.”

“Ha ha.” Tony said sarcastically. “I mean it this time. You know what we’re after.”

Rhodey snorted, and smiled. “Yeah, I know.”

“Well all right then!” Tony clapped his hands together and jumped up onto the rail, grabbing a rope. “Dummy!” he hollered, and a massive grey dog woofed and shoved its weight against a pole that released the blades from the side of the ship. Tony whooped as the two ships clashed and the blades bit into the wood of the other, holding them firmly together. He jumped towards the other ship and allowed the rope to swing him above the deck before he leaped into a group of the soldiers that made up the crew. The rest of his pirates followed behind him. 

The soldiers were decent fighters, he’d give them that. But it was obvious that their experience was mostly in practicing and sparing and not in actual combat.

That’s what happened when there was peace for so long, Tony supposed. It didn’t stop him from rushing into battle with enthusiasm though.

He drew his swords and immediately started swinging, knocking aside the soldier’s weapons quickly and efficiently. He didn’t like to kill his opponents unless absolutely necessary, and, thankfully, here it wasn’t. Most of them were easily knocked out with a quick kick to the head, his swords mostly used to distract his opponents or increase his movement.

Rhodey laughed at him before continuing his own fight. His large stature and thick arms made it easy to disarm his opponents without using a weapon of his own. 

Tony moved through the ship, most of their opponents now overpowered by the rest of the pirates. The only battle still going on was on the upper deck, by the door guarding Tony’s prize. He looked closer at the fight and frowned. The man fighting against the twins, Wanda and Pietro, looked familiar. Then the man pulled a round shield off his back and Tony gasped.

“Steve,” he muttered to himself quietly.

“Oh, crap.” Rhodey responded behind him. “How long has it been now?”

“About a lifetime.” Tony moved to walk up the stairs and leaned against the wall to watch. Steve was holding his own pretty well against the twins. Not surprising, he’d always been an excellent fighter.

“You still fight like an old man.” Tony commented, distracting Steve for a minute.

“Anthony?” He turned around for a second, leaving the twins with the only opening they needed to wrestle him to the ground.

“Actually, I go by Tony now.” Tony grinned. “Or Iron Man, but that’s mostly for other pirates.”

Steve frowned at him, shaking off the twins and standing. “Tony then. What are you doing here?”

Tony huffed a laugh and turned to the door. “I’m working,” he said before trying the knob. It was locked, but only took a second for him to pick it. The door opened easily.

“Where have you been? What happened? One minute you were my best friend and the next you were just gone! I thought you were dead!” Steve walked into the room after him.

“Yeah, well life happens. Look, I’d love to catch up, but, like I said, I have work.” Tony turned to look into the room and whistled lowly. “Now that is a thing of beauty.”

“It is the most valuable object in the world. A true mastery of magic,” Steve commented. “You’re father certainly was skilled.”

Tony grimaced. “Yeah, sure.” He seemed lost in thought for half a second before he shook it off. “Anyway, I’m not just here to admire the thing.”

“Anthony, you’re not going to steal it. You’re better than that. I know you are.” Steve gripped his shoulder.

Tony shrugged it off. “That was a long time ago, Steve. We were kids. Things have changed.” He moved to push Steve aside so as to better reach the book, but Steve grabbed his upper arm and swung him around.

“Then you’ll have to go through me to get it,” Steve said regretful, but resolute.

Tony shrugged and drew his sword as Steve held his shield in front of him. They moved to attack each other, but as they did the ship rocked underneath them and they heard a crashing sound. Steve’s eyes widened and he pushed past Tony to open the door and look out on the ship. Tony followed close behind.

The deck of the ship swarmed with both soldiers and pirates. Long, scaled coils of an enormous snake wrapped tightly around the ship. Tony could hear the wood creak under the pressure of the beast.

“Holy shit.” Tony gaped. He could see the rest of his crew jump off Steve’s ship and back aboard the Iron Maiden, Rhodey dragged Dummy along with the rest of them. He turned to Steve and grinned. “Looks like I won’t be robbing you today, anyway. It seems you’re busy, so I’ll catch you later!”

“Tony! Where are you going!” Steve reached after him as Tony jumped up onto the railing.

Tony saluted him before turning to jump back onto his ship, but before he could, a coil of the snake wiggled its way between the two ships and forcefully shoved the Iron Maiden away. Rodey called after Tony, but there is no way he can jump across now.

He looked down across the deck at the battle, where the serpent finally reared its head from the water. Steve joined his crew and threw his shield at the head, but it is knocked away by the giant tail before doing any damage. The coils squeezed tighter, and Tony winced at the sound of splintering wood.

**Finally, he sighed and jumped into the battle, pulling a small orb from his belt. As the giant head lungee at one of the soldiers, he threw it at the beast and it shattered against its nose. A large cloud of shimmering golden gas sprayed from the impact and coated the serpent’s head as it screeched in pain. It glared down at Tony and lunged, open mouthed at him. As it dove towards him, Tony dodged and pulled out a sword, stabbing it through the open mouth and down into the lower jaw and the wood of the deck beneath. The now pinned serpent writhed and whipped its tail and coils around the ship.

Steve turned back to look at Tony and grinned. “You stayed.”

“Didn’t have much of a choice, but yeah.” Tony laughed. “Got a plan?”

“Not really. You?” Steve responded.

“Try not to get killed?” Tony laughed and drew on of his daggers. “I’ve got something, come on!” He clenched the knife between his teeth and grabbed a rope before pulling Steve by the arm over to one of the masts. Quickly, he threw the rope around it and Steve grabbed the other end. Pulling against each other, they quickly made their way up the mast and to the yardarm. Tony sliced one of the ropes supporting the beam and threw it to Steve who was still balancing on the dangling wood. He looked down to where the beam was now pointing straight at the serpent’s head and grinned.

Tony nodded at Steve and swung up onto a rope connecting the two masts. He made his way across, dodging the serpent’s tail as it lashed around him and leaped onto the other yardarm before cutting a robe to make it aim downwards as well.

“Now!” Tony called, and he and Steve sliced the ropes holding up their makeshift lances together, sending them careening down at the head of the snake. They hit hard, piercing the snake to the deck before falling to the side. The writhing coils fell limp, and as Tony and Steve swung safely to the deck, started to slide from the wood, the weight of them dragging the corpse into the depths.

Steve clapped Tony on the back. “Thanks for sticking around.” He grinned.

Tony laughed. “Yeah sure, just like old times, right?”

“Just like old times.” Steve grinned and opened his mouth to stay more, but Tony noticed the tail of the serpent behind him, whipping in their direction as the weight of the snake dragged it off the ship. 

“Look out!” Tony shouted, shoving Steve out of the way before the tail smacked into him. Tony felt himself get hit by the tail into a broken edge of the railing where a large splinter of wood shoved its way into his chest. He shoved himself off of the rail and turned to look at Steve who stared at him in horror. Tony laughed quietly and felt his lungs start to fill with liquid before his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell from the ship, hitting the water with a splash. He saw Steve try to dive after him, but the soldiers pulled him back, leaving Tony to sink into the blackness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The water was cold around him, and dark. Tony could feel the pressure beginning to squeeze against him and he was starting to feel numb. He couldn’t tell if his vision was going black because of the sea or lack of air, or because he was bleeding out. Maybe it was all three of those things. At this point, he couldn’t really find it in himself to care anyway. 

As he was about ready to let himself slip away, he saw a hazy green light begin to spread around him. He turned his head to the side and saw the figure of a man standing in the water next to him. His long, black hair whipped around his face. The man grinned at him and clapped his hands, the sound echoing through Tony’s head. A sphere of air formed between the man’s palms and he pushed it towards Tony. It expanded as it moved, and grew to surround his body and allow him to gasp shallowly at the blessed air. 

Tony couldn’t move much, but he reached up to feel the wood protruding from his chest. Shit. He was going to die. He looked up at the figure that was now standing in the bubble with him. He tried to say something, but there was so much liquid in his mouth that he couldn’t. He coughed weakly, and bloody water spilled from his mouth.

“Now that really won’t do.” The figure said quietly. “I can’t have you dying on me yet, you’re no use to me dead.” They reached over and grasped the splinter with two fingers, almost daintily, before yanking it from Tony’s chest. Tony arched, pain blazing through him like fire. He grasped at his chest and his hands became soaked with blood. The figure laughed coldly before leaning over and placing their hand over the gaping hole. The fire coursing over him paused, then seemed to pull back into a core of agony over the hole before it sat there. As the hand pulled away, the pain faded before disappearing entirely. 

The black spots faded away from Tony’s vision as he blinked and looked down at his chest. His clothes were still soaked in blood, but where the wood splinter and gaping wound had been was now a blue, glowing orb half embedded in his chest. He looked up at the figure, who he could now see was a man with long black hair and wearing very expensive looking green clothes.

“What did you do to me?” he asked. 

“A simple trick,” the man replied. “I allowed your own magic to collect in the would and seal it.”

Tony nodded, then frowned. “And what do you expect in return for such a boon?”

The man smiled, showing a few too many teeth for Tony’s liking. “You are clever, for a mortal.” His smile faded into a frown. “I am Loki, God of Chaos.I sent my sea monster to bring me something from that ship. Everything was going as well too, until you interfered.”

Tony grimaced. “Ah, right that. I’m guessing you don’t just want an apology either?”

“From you? Oh dear, no. I considered letting you die, it would have been satisfying to see you struggle, but I have something better in mind.” Loki grinned again. “See, my plans have been in motion for a long while, and I don’t like to let them go to waste.”

Tony nodded and tried to take a step back as Loki stepped forwards. His feet slipped against the curved surface. Loki, however, had no such problem and stepped right into Tony’s space, setting a hand firmly on his shoulder.

“You are going to get the Book of Peace for me,” he said, his tone conveying absolutely no room for refusal. “If you do not, I shall remove the spell I placed on you and you will die in agony.” His fingers dug into Tony’s shoulder, almost hard enough for the nails to break skin even through Tony’s vest.

“Not that living isn’t great motivation,” Tony said, shrugging Loki’s hand from off his shoulder before crossing his arms. “But I’m not going to be able to do that myself. I have a crew and they’ve been promised a pay day. They don’t work for free.”

Loki sighed. “I think they would if your life is on the line, but I do see your point. Tell you what, if you stole the book for ransom you’d get enough to retire, yes?” Tony nodded. “Steal it for me, and you’ll have enough a hundred times that amount, for each of you.” Tony gulped and Loki grinned.

“And, how do I know that you’ll keep that promise?”

Loki pulled a knife out of the air, one of Tony’s own knives he noticed. He put a hand on his belt, his dagger was gone. “When a God gives their word it is binding, far more than a mortal promise.” He pulled down the collar of his shirt and crossed an X over his heart. “Keep your end of the deal, and you will get more than you could ever dream of.”

Tony grinned. “Well alright then. You make a compelling argument.”

“It’s a deal.” Loki struck the knife along the edge of the bubble. As the edge drew back, an image formed of the horizon and a star Tony recognized shining right above it. “When you have the book, follow that star as far as you can go. That will lead you to Tartarus. I will meet you there.” 

Tony nodded. “Alright. See you there then.”

“Indeed.” Loki stepped close to Tony again, just a few inches from his face and his grin shifted to something much more dark. “Don’t disappoint me.”

“Right.” Tony swallowed and Loki vanished with a chuckle, the bubble popping around him. 

The water rushed into the space around Tony before he was able to take a breath. He swam upwards, gasping as he broke the surface. He looked around for his ship, confused for just a second before he felt something jerk him upwards.

Rhodey yanked Tony from the water and onto the deck. “Nice to see you aren’t dead.” 

Tony took a second to catch his breath before he stood up, laughing a little. “Yeah. Takes more than a big snake, right?”

“Sure, sure.” Rodey slapped him on the shoulder. “So what happened down there? That was a long time.”

Tony grinned and leaned back against the railing. “I met the God of Chaos, Loki. Totally has a crush on my, by the way. He invited me to his place.”

Rhodey raised an eyebrow at him. “God of Chaos, Tony? Really?”

Tony raised his eyebrow back at him and Rhodey’s grin faltered slightly. “You’re not joking.”

Tony grinned at him. “Nope. But that’s all right, we’ve got better things to worry about now. Like getting that book, huh!” He turned to the rest of the crew who cheered.

Clint frowned. “But boss, uh, their ship is far ahead of us now, we had to stop to rescue you. I mean, we’re fast, but we won’t be able to catch them before they make it to better guarded waters.”

“I know that. But we know where they’re going, right? We’ll figure it out like we always do.” Tony forced confidence into his voice, and let the crew think everything was fine. “Nat,” he called. “Take the helm.” She nodded and walked towards the stairs leading up to the wheel.

Tony pushed off from the railing and walked to his cabin, knowing that Rhodey and Pepper would follow him. He shouldered the door open before walking to his favorite chair and falling into it. He rubbed his face and heard Pepper and Rhodey come into the room and shut the door behind them.

“Okay, what was all that about the God of Chaos, Tony?” Pepper asked, frowning. 

Tony just sighed and pulled his vest open, letting the blue glow of the spell embedded in his chest fill the room. Pepper gasped, her hands coming up to cover her mouth and Rhodey frowned, leaning forward to look more closely at it.

“What is that Tones?” he asked.

Tony grimaced, taking a breath before telling them the whole story. When he was done, Pepper sighed.

“So we’re still trying to steal the book, but now we’re stealing it to give to a God and we don’t know what he’s going to do with it but he promised to make us all rich and to not kill you. Did I get all that?”

“Yeah. That about sums it up.” Tony pulled a bottle of wine and three out of the cubboard next to his chair. He filled them one at a time and passed them to his best friends before drinking deeply from his own and refilling it.

Pepper sipped daintily from her glass and Rhodey sighed before emptying his own. “What are you going to do about Steve?” he asked.

Tony shrugged. “I’ll figure it out,” he said simply. “Always do.”


	2. Accused

The celebratory party for bringing the Book of Peace to Marvel was in full swing when Tony and his crew arrived. Guards rushed to stop them at the door, but Tony grinned at them, seeing Steve moving through the crowd, a giant grin on his face.

“You know you’re about to put those swords down.” Tony grinned at the guards.

“Not on your life.” The guard growled, bringing his blade closer to Tony’s face. Tony’s grin widened as Steve finally walked up behind them.

“Put down your weapons, please.” Steve gripped the guard on the shoulder and walked past them to embrace Tony. “It is good to see you again under better circumstances. And alive! How did you survive?”

“You know me! I’m harder to kill than that.” Tony laughed, wrapping his own arm around Steve’s shoulders as the larger man pulled him around. “I just thought I’d give you the opportunity to thank me for saving your butt. How many times has it been now?”

“Right, and I’ve saved yours just as often if you recall.” Steve turned to Tony’s crew. “But this is a night for celebration! Please join us, eat and drink as much as you like.”

Clint cheered as Steve pulled Tony away. Tony signed quietly to Rhodey to investigate how they could steal the Book. As they walked away Tony heard the guards stop his crew again to tell them to leave their weapons at the door. They were in for a surprise though, Natasha could hold a whole armory on her person. He still didn’t know how she did that and he wasn’t going to ask her again, she always just smirked anyway. 

“There’s someone I want you to meet.” Steve said as he pulled Tony through the crowd. They were attracting all sorts of attention from the other guests and Tony laughed quietly at them. He ducked Steve’s arm and walked over to the drinks table.

“Sure sure, you grab them and I’ll meet you in a moment. But I’m parched after our trip over here.” He grinned and Steve huffed a laugh at him before walking off.

Tony glanced over the table and grinned as he found a bottle of one of his favorite wines. It had been too long since he’d had it and he felt no guilt in pouring himself a very generous glass.

“Anthony Stark,” a voice said behind him. Tony grimaced as he recognized it. “It has been far too long. Tony turned and pasted a neutral smile on his face.

“Tiberius Stone. I’d say it’s a pleasure, but I’d be lying.” Ty laughed and swung his arm up to put it on Tony’s shoulder, but he brushed it off.

“You always were just so funny.” Ty said. “I never did understand why you left. You were so successful, coming up under your father. But I hear you’re into piracy now, is that right? And you’ve dragged your old servants into it with you?”

“I have my own ship now, yes. And I am captain.” Tony gritted his teeth just slightly. Ty always knew how to push his buttons and it seemed that it hadn’t changed. Luckily, he could see Steve coming up behind Ty. “Got to go. Hope I never see your face again.” He gripped Ty’s shoulder, a little too tightly, and shoved past him. Ty turned and sneered at him as he left and Tony was reminded about the man’s manipulative two-faced nature. He sighed and scrubbed his face with his hand before he turned to Steve.

“Tony!” Steve said excitedly as he walked over, pulling someone by the hand behind him. “I wanted to introduce you to James Barnes, ambassador of Zima and a good friend of mine.”

Tony extended a hand to shake with a much more genuine smile on his face. James Barnes was gorgeous, long dark brown hair and blue eyes and enough muscles that he could probably lift Tony with one hand. Damn. “My pleasure, Ambassador Barnes,” Tony purred.

“Please, call me Bucky.” The man responded, grasping Tony’s hand firmly. “The pleasure is all mine.”

“Bucky is here to ease negotiations between our two cities” Steve continued. “And he is my fiance.”

Tony’s grin faltered, just slightly, before he fixed it back in place. He took his hand back gently. “Congratulations are in order then, Steve. I wish you happiness.”

Steve laughed, “Yes, well it is a political marriage, but we make it work.” He turned to his fiance. “Tony came tonight to give me an opportunity to thank him for what he did earlier.”

“Right.” Bucky turned back to Tony. “I heard all about this morning. First you try to rob Steve, then you save him. A bit of conflict of interest, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Tony coughed. “Well, things get complicated when I find old friends onboard my targets.” He shifted on his feet slightly and rubbed at his chest before pulling his hand into a fist. “Well, it has been good to meet you, but I think I should find the rest of my crew before they eat the country to bankruptcy.” He inclined his head in an approximation of a bow. “Steve, Ambassador.”

“Tony, wait!” Steve called as Tony walked away from them. He sighed. “I don’t think I will ever fully understand that man.”

Bucky tilted his head, still looking after Tony. “Maybe not, but he is fascinating.”

Tony walked quickly through the crowd. Not bothering to look at any of the other guests this time as he made his way to Rhodey.

Rhodey walked up him, keeping his voice low as they talked. “I’ve mapped it all out. There’s only a handful of guards on each floor. You’re right, this’ll be easy.”

“Forget it. Get everyone back on the ship, we’re leaving.” Tony said firmly. 

Clint came up behind them. “What? But we just got here!”

“And now we’re leaving. Get back to the ship.” Tony growled and stormed off, leaving Rhodey to gather everyone behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony was lounging in his quarters waiting for the tide to change so they could get out of there when he heard a commotion starting on the deck. He stood, sighing, and made his way out of his quarters.

“Alright, what’s all this noise?” he called, shoving the door open. He looked down and standing there, on the gangplank, was a group of soldiers. “What’s going on?”

The soldiers looked up at him and the one in front glared before opening a scroll. “By order of his highness, King Fury, the traitor Anthony Stark is to be arrested immediately.” He rolled up the scroll. “My orders are to take you by any means necessary.”

“On what charges?” Tony asked, his heart sinking.

“You have been charged with stealing the Book of Peace.”

“What now?” Tony raised an eyebrow. “You guys have got the wrong guy.”

“If you are innocent then you shall have an opportunity to prove it.” The guard said. “I suggest you come with us peacefully, though if you refuse we shall take you anyway.”

The rest of Tony’s crew surrounded him, their hands hovering over their own weapons. Even Peter, their newest crew member, was holding onto his dagger and standing just behind Natasha. They were all willing to die for him, and looking at the guards who already had their weapons drawn, if anyone attacked there would be losses somewhere.

Tony pushed his crew aside and walked down towards the guards. “It’s okay. I’ll go with them. The truth will come out.”

The guards gripped his shoulders and Tony winced slightly. “Hey watch the merchandise,” he said as they dragged him off. He looked back at his crew lined up on the ship. Everything would turn out right, he hoped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony was disarmed, handcuffed, and thrown in a cell before he could even think. 

“Hey! Watch it!” He pulled himself back to his feet and glared at the cell door.

“Tony!” Tony turned to see someone else in the cell with him.

“Steve! Geez, am I glad to see you, would you tell these guys that I didn’t steal the freaking book!” Tony gestured at the door.

“Because we have evidence that you did! A guard saw you, Tony!” Steve pulled a knife from his belt and shoved it in Tony’s face. On the hilt was a circular design with two triangles inside it. “You left this in the tower! Don’t say it isn’t yours.”

Tony stared at the dagger and frowned before feeling at his belt. “I… I didn’t have that. It was….” tony stopped talking and frowned before cursing quietly. “Loki.”

“What?” Steve pulled the knife away. 

“Loki must have framed me. He took my knife and left it there for you to find. Look!” Tony pulled down his shirt to show Steve the glowing spell on his chest. “Remember when I was knocked off your boat? You saw the wound in my chest. There’s no way I could have survived that without help. Loki saved me and told me to seal the Book. And yeah, I was tempted, I’ll admit that. But I didn’t steal it. We were planning on leaving in the morning!” Tony sighed. “You have to believe me, Steve. The book is in Tartarus.”

Steve sighed. “You’re crazy, Tony. Loki? Really?”

Tony rubbed his cuffed hands over his face. “Steve, come on! You know me better than that! Talk to Fury, tell him that…”

“This is beyond King Fury!” Steve interrupted. “The ambassadors are convening for your trial. There is talk of execution, Tony!”

Tony froze. “Trial? Seriously?! I didn’t do it! Look, the last I saw of the Book it was on your ship. You know that. You know me.”

Steve sighed. “I did… once. Or I thought I did. We were kids, Tony. Our fathers worked together and we played and sparred, but then you left. I have no idea who you’ve become in the last ten years. You tried to rob me today! How on Earth can I trust you?”

“Of course you know me! Have I ever lied to you? Look me in the eye, and ask me if I’m lying now.” Tony challenged him and stood firm, eyes steady.

Steve looked at him, his blue eyes piercing into Tony’s brown. He held Tony’s gaze for a minute, neither of them blinking. Finally, he spoke. “Tell me the truth, Tony. Did you steal the book?”

Tony held his gaze as he answered firmly. “No”.

Steve sighed and pulled back. “I’ll see what I can do.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The court room was full to bursting. People from every social class and every city stood in attendance. Tony had been shoved up into the accused box standing in front of the raised seating where the ambassadors had been launching question after question at him for the past two hours.

“For the last time!” Tony shouted. “I didn’t steal the book!”

The ambassadors stood. “Very well then,” one of the men said somberly. “If you do not return the Book of Peace or lead us to its location, then it is the verdict of this council that the defendant, Anthony Stark, is a traitor to the Allied Kingdoms and its inhabitants and is sentenced to death.”

Tony gaped for a moment, just long enough for the soldiers at his side to grasp his bound arms and begin dragging him off. As soon as they touched him he started to struggle. “Are you insane?!” he screamed. “I didn’t do it!” The soldiers didn’t listen to him and continued to slowly drag him out of the room, before they got to the door, however, it slammed open and Steve walked through confidently.

“Stop!” Steve shouted. “I demand the right of substitution.” He walked to the front of the room and stood before the council. “I will be held in Anthony’s place.”

Fury stood up from his seat. “No! I will not have the heir of Marvel be held in place of a criminal.”

Steve shook his head at the king and turned to the council. “Tony claims that he doesn’t have the Book and that Loki framed him for the theft. If he is correct, then the Book is in Tartarus. I suggest that we send him there to retrieve it.”

Tony shoved his way past the guards and grasped Steve’s wrist with his bound hands. “What are you doing? You idiot!”

“If you’re right, Tony, then you know where it is. They won’t believe you unless you go get it back from Loki.” Steve smiled at him. “I believe you, but they need some convincing.”

Tony shook his head. “Nuh uh. Nope. I’m not taking that responsibility. Why should I go get the book when I didn’t take it? I’m not going to be responsible for your life here, Steve!”

“I’m not giving you a choice.” Steve responded before turning back to the council. “Killing Anthony here will not return the Book. If he is lying, and he has the Book, then he must return it or I will die in his place. If he is not lying, then the Book is in Tartarus, with Loki, and he is the only one who could retrieve it. Either way he is our only hope.”

The council muttered together for a moment before the speaker stood again. “Very well. We accept your proposal Prince Steven. Anthony Stark will have ten days to return with the Book. If he does not, at of the eleventh day, you will be executed in his place. So saith the council.” He raised his gavel and dropped it with a final thud, the sound echoing through the silent room. A moment later, the guards took the shackles from Tony’s hands and clasped them around Steve’s before leading him out of the room. Tony could feel the glares of everyone in the room as the doors closed behind them.


	3. Embark

Walking on board his ship was usually an enjoyable experience. This time, however, with a crowd as large as the one behind him, it was most decidedly not. The crowd was silent, their gazes drilling into the back of his skull. He grimaced, and made his way up the ramp. The crowd started murmuring behind him and he turned around at the commotion. Someone was making their way through the crowd. 

James Barnes shoved through the last few people between him and the ramp. He had a cloth bag slung over one shoulder and a sword hanging from his hip.

“Permission to come aboard, Captain?” he asked with a grin.

Tony glared down at him. “Denied.” he said simply and turned around and kept walking.

“I think you ought to change your mind.” Barnes called behind him.

“And why is that?!” Tony called back, still walking. Behind him he heard Barnes making some noise just before something came whistling through the air to his head. He leaned to the side and caught the thing just over his shoulder and pulled it down to look at it. It was a perfectly polished blue gem, almost as large as his palm. He weighed it in his hand for a moment then turned around. “Seriously, you’re just going to throw something like that?”

Barnes laughed. “I had to get your attention somehow. There’s more where that came from too.”

Tony smirked at him. He wasn’t stupid. He knew why the man wanted to get onto his boat. He meant to make sure that Tony was going to keep his word to get the Book or drag his head back if they failed. From the comfortable way he stood with that sword on his hip he didn’t doubt that he was skilled with it either. But Tony wasn’t a pirate for nothing. He walked back down the ramp and shoved the gem in his pocket.

“Keep talking then,” Tony smirked.

Barnes returned his grin and pulled a leather pouch from his belt, upturning it over Tony’s palm. More gems, of the same quality as the large one if significantly smaller, rained down into Tony’s hand. He weighed them for a moment before grinning.

“Welcome aboard,” Tony said with a grin and stood aside so Barnes could walk up the ramp. He stepped back up it behind him. As they stepped up onto the ship Tony grabbed his shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll understand though, as a last minute addition to the voyage there will be some limitations to the amenities we can offer you. Allow me to show you to your bunk.” 

Tony steered Barnes around the deck and over to the door that lead to the storage room. He opened the door and let Barnes look inside before shoving him. 

“Hey!” Barnes shouted as he fell into a sack of potatoes.

Tony laughed. “I hope you understand that the crew need room to maneuver as we begin our voyage. Enjoy your stay on the Iron Maiden, we’ll wake you for breakfast.” He slammed the door shut and placed a wooden board over and into the metal slots on the side to lock it in place. He could hear Barnes yelling from inside, but he didn’t bother to try and understand what he was saying.

Tony walked across the deck to stand at the prow of the Iron Maiden, looking at the sunset. Behind him, the crew was working to set sail away from Marvel and take to the open water. Peter swang from the crow’s nest and lit each of the lamps around the ship, casting them all in a soft glow to combat the darkening night. Next to him a figure came up and leaned on the rail.

“So. We’ve got a royal on board now.” Rhodey said, raising his eyebrow at Tony.

Tony sighed. “Can’t really get rid of him. I think he’d sneak on board anyway. This way I get paid.”

“Right.” Rhodey replied flatly. “So which way are we headed?”

“Gather the crew. They need to hear something before we head out.” Tony said before leaning further over the rail to study the horizon in the distance. Behind him he could hear Rhodey shouting at the crew to come stand by. Tony waited until he heard them mostly stop moving around before he turned, standing confidently.

“Alright.” He nodded to his crew, each member had been loyal to him and even the newest ones he would trust with his life. Rhodey and Pepper, his best friends who shared first mate responsibilities and helped keep him sane. Jarvis, the ship’s cook who had been with him as long as he could remember. Clint and Natasha, his lookouts and intelligence. Pietro and Wanda, the twins who fought better together than most trained soldiers. Bruce, the ship’s doctor who didn’t fight until he did and then he was terrifying. And Peter, the youngest and newest of the crew who was just as loyal and fierce as any of them, if inexperienced. He looked over all of them and took a deep breath.

“This is not going to be an easy voyage. Where we’re going there’s a chance that we might not come back.” Tony placed his hands behind his back and continued. “None of you have a responsibility or commitment to come along this time. If any of you want to leave, now is the time to do so and I will pay you what you have earned. For the rest of you, if you want to stay do so with a clear conscience. In ten minutes we depart for Tartarus. That is all.” Tony turned back to look at the sea and waited. Ten minutes later he turned back to see that not one member of his crew had moved even an inch from where they stood and all of them returned his gaze steadily.

Tony grinned at them. “All right then!” He clapped his hands and rubbed them together, pushing down the rise of emotion in his chest. “Let’s set sail!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

When Bucky finally busted his way out of the storage room the ship was bustling with activity. He reached out and grabbed a blond sailor by the shoulder.

“Hey, what’s going on?” He asked them. 

The sailor turned to him with an uncertain look on his face. “We are preparing to sail through that, he said simply, pointing off the bow of the ship. 

Bucky looked out in that direction and clenched his teeth. Laying before them was a line of great jagged rocks extending as far as he could see.

“The Dragon’s Teeth,” Bucky murmured in awe.

“Da.” Bucky was answered by one of the women on board, the fierce red-head dressed all in black. “It is a path that few captains would choose to take.” She pulled herself up into the rigging and away quicker than he could take a breath to answer. The blond sailor had already moved away so Bucky looked up to the wheel where Tony was standing and made his way over to him.

“Do you think…?” he started but Tony interrupted him.

“That we can actually sail through this? Yes.” Tony said confidently.

“But you…” Again Tony interrupted.

“Have done this sort of thing before, yes. And before you ask, no there isn’t another way. Now, if you would please not distract the crew we can get started. You are, however, more than welcome to stand here and get a free lesson in sailing.” Tony grinned at him before turning back to the wheel.

Bucky growled in exasperation but decided to back off. An experienced crew was better off left alone when moving through an area known to be dangerous. He’d help out if they got into trouble though.

The ship moved it’s way through the rocks slowly, each of the sailors doing their job. The blond sailor and the red-head from before hung off each side, holding onto the ropes and keeping an eye out for rocks, shouting back when they saw something. Bucky was impressed with how each of the sailors knew and did their jobs so smoothly. 

“Steady.” Tony called from the helm, looking out ahead and maneuvering carefully. 

A few minutes into the shadowy area and Bucky could already see the wreckage of other ships, broken on the rocks ahead of them. The atmosphere was eerie and he could almost hear something, a quiet voice, echoing across the water.

“What is that?” Bucky asked.

“Shh.” Tony replied. Bucky looked back at him and noticed that his eyes were a little unfocused. Tony was looking out over the water, searching for something, but not paying much attention to where the ship was going.

The sound got louder, and Bucky recognized it as singing. The sound echoed around the rocks, slowly growing louder and more eerie. He looked around the ship and noticed that the only ones actually focused on their jobs anymore were the red-head he’d talked to previously, another woman, this one brunette, and the boy standing in the crows nest. There was the big shaggy dog running around the deck too. The dog was whining and scratching at his ears.

Bucky looked around at the wrecked ships and noticed water dripping, in large amounts, from the cracked figure heads of many of them. The music grew louder as he ran to the side of the ship and looked down. The water was churning around the ship and as he searched the waves he saw the faces and figures of women dancing in the current. He felt the ship rock as they began to push and bump into it, shoving the ship until it began to hit the rocks on the side of the channel.

“Sirens.” Bucky growled. He looked back at the ship, where most of the crew had now completely abandoned what they had been doing. Many of them were wandering around, dazed or posing, showing off their muscles. All of them had stupid grins plastered on their faces. At the helm, Tony was no better pointing his fingers and saying cheesy pick-up lines, he had completely forgotten the wheel now and the sirens were easily pushing the ship in the direction of the rocks.

Bucky growled and pulled Tony off the wheel, letting him slump against the rail. He grabbed the wheel and yanked it around to point the boat away from the rocks. “Hey!” he called to the three sailors still in control of themselves. “Get ropes and wrap them around the others! We’ve got sirens.” The three nodded and began roping up the rest of the crew, tying them each to the mast. The women worked with ruthless efficiency, knocking many of the other crew members on the head before tying them up tightly so they couldn’t escape. He saw the red-headed women tackle a large man and bring him down by wrapping her thighs around his neck.

Bucky saw the blond man he’d talked to earlier leaning off the side of the ship. He was barely holding onto a rope and as he watched, Bucky saw a siren leap out of the water and grab onto his purple vest, pulling him off the boat and into the water. 

“Kid! Take the wheel!” Bucky shouted and ran across the deck, grabbing a rope along the way.

“My name is Peter!” The boy shouted back, but he grabbed onto the wheel anyway. 

Bucky leaped off the edge of the ship and into the water, diving to where the siren had grabbed the blond sailor. Now, away from the air where he could hear their voices, the sailor was struggling hard against the siren’s grasp. She was smiling widely, shark teeth bared in a hungry grin. Bucky tossed the slip knot looped at the end of the rope around one of the sailor’s feet and pulled on the other end, sending the sailor flying up out of the water to dangle, upside down, from the ship’s mast. The siren screeched in rage and tried to reach after Bucky, but he climbed up the rope and swung himself back on deck before tying down the loose end of the rope.

As he stood, he saw another of the sirens climbing aboard the ship and pulling Tony from where he had landed against the railing. The siren pulled Tony towards the edge of the boat. Tony’s unfocused eyes contrasted his pleased smile as he followed her wherever she lead him. Bucky pushed off the mast and ran to follow, but as he got within grabbing distance, the ship hit against another rock and the deck heaved below him. Bucky was thrown forward and the siren leapt out of the way and into the water, leaving Bucky to crash into Tony, their mouths connecting in a kiss. Tony, still under the spell of the siren’s song, kissed him earnestly, his eyes closed in bliss. Bucky growled and shoved him off, decking him in the face for good measure and to knock him out before he could be wrapped up in another siren’s spell.

“Hey mister!” The young man at the wheel called and Bucky looked back at him. He was pointing in front of them. Bucky looked and saw the rocks come together in front of them. The water, still urged by the sirens, crashed against them in great waves, bringing some of the old wreckage with them and shattering them apart against the great stones. 

Bucky ran back to the helm and Peter moved so he could take the wheel. He looked ahead, eyes searching for a way out. The siren’s singing was reaching a fever pitch, accompanying their inevitable destruction. They would enjoy feasting on their corpses once they had all drowned. Bucky looked around and noticed them all sitting against the mast of a ship laid at an incline against one of the shorter rocks. Beyond the bow of the wreckage, he could see the clear blues of the horizon. 

Bucky grinned and spun the wheel quickly to the side, pointing the ship in that direction. “Hey kid!” he called. “This ship got any blades on it?”

“Yeah!” Peter called back.

“We’re gonna need them!” Bucky shouted. Peter looked forward and his eyes lit up in understanding. He whistled and the dog ran to the front of the boat where the lever to the blades was stored and threw his weight onto it. Just in time the blades whipped out along the sides of the ship as they hit the wood. The force of the water behind them shoved the ship onto the wreckage and upwards, the blades cutting away much of the old wood before the bulk of the ship reached it. A moment later, the ship flew off the edge of the wreckage and over the rest of the rocks, free falling until it splashed down into the clear water below.

Bucky sighed in relief, steering the ship in the clear waters and out to the open ocean once again.

“Well done,” the brunette woman said. She walked up to the helm and held out her hand. “The names Wanda.”

“Thanks for your help Wanda.” Bucky replied with a grin, grasping her hand firmly. Wanda nodded at him, then walked back down to where she had tied up the other sailors.

Bucky startled as someone came up behind him and stood next to the wheel. “Not bad,” the red-headed woman said, looking at him from the corner of her eye. “I’m Natasha.”

“Thank you for your help as well, Natasha.” She inclined her head slightly, then pulled a rope that propelled her back up into the rigging and then down to the deck. He grinned after. It seems he was making a good enough impression on the crew.

The rest of them were starting to wake up from the trance, slowly. Natasha slapped the blond sailor across the face and yelled at him. Apparently his name was Clint. Wanda was also slapping around another sailor, this one younger with white hair, apparently name Pietro. Bucky grinned silently. They were obviously a close crew, it was nice to see people who shared such a bond.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony woke with a groan, rubbing his jaw where Bucky had decked him. Bucky tried not to remember the kiss that had prompted it and he blushed slightly.

“Ugh.” Tony groaned. “What the heck happened?”

“Sirens.” Natasha answered simply. 

Tony cursed and turned. “How are we not all dead then?” he asked.

“Nat, Peter, Barnes and I were unaffected.” Wanda answered smugly. “You all were too woman crazy to be anything other than useless.”

Tony growled at the statement. “I get you and Nat, but why weren’t Peter and Barnes affected?” 

Peter swung down from the rigging with a grin on his face. “I don’t like girls,” he said simply. Tony nodded at him then looked at Barnes.

“Same,” he said simply. “Not interested.”

“Huh,” Tony responded and then turned back to look at his ship. “What the hell?!”

The ship was scratched up everywhere. A few of the stairs up to the helm were broken, the rigging was a complete mess, part of the railing was completely broken. Tony looked over the side and almost cried at the state of the planks there. “Oh baby what did they do to you!” he rubbed his hands over a scratched part of the rail and murmured comforting words.

Rhodey walked up and took the helm from Barnes with a grin and a slap on the shoulder. Barnes nodded at him and walked back down to the deck. The crew all smiled at him as he walked past and up next to Tony.

“Sorry about the damage,” he said, still grinning.

Tony looked back up at him. For a second he was taken aback. The sun was right behind Barnes, and it lit him from behind beautifully. His hair was pulled back into a loose tail and it framed his rugged face nicely. He was gorgeous. Tony gaped for a moment before he pulled back. 

“Do you have any idea how much these cost?” he said. Barnes’ face fell as he watched and his eyebrows drew together in anger. 

“How much they cost!” Barnes growled. “I saved your life!”

“You could have done it less destructively! Look at this rail! It came all the way from Damascus!” Tony smirked. “Leave it to royalty to screw things up so spectacularly.”

Bucky glared at him. “Fine,” he said shortly and turned on his heel. He stormed to the door that lead under the deck and slammed it behind him. 

Tony huffed and turned around only to see the rest of his crew glaring at him. 

“What?” he asked. He looked to Rhodey who just gestured at the door. Tony grimaced at him, but even Dummy was looking at him with disappointment. Tony groaned, but turned around and stormed over to the door, knocking on it harshly.

Tony turned to look at the crew who just waved at him. A second later the door opened.

“Thank you,” Tony said shortly.

“You’re welcome,” Barnes growled back.

“Good day then,” Tony replied.

“Same to you,” Barnes said sharply then slammed the door shut behind him again.

Tony turned back to his crew and raised his eyebrows. None of them responded but they all turned back to their respective jobs on the ship. Tony grimaced, he didn’t think having another person on the ship would be this much trouble.


	4. Voyage

“Alright!” Rhodey called. “We’ve got an hour, then we’re leaving! You get lost, we’re leaving without you!”

Tony was still looking over the damage to his ship. It had been a full day since the siren incident and they had finally limped their way to a small island. The crew was excited to stretch their legs.

“How did one man do so much damage?” Tony wondered quietly, he sighed as yet another piece splintered off into his hands. He started walking up to Pepper. “We’re going to need the full set of chisels, jack plane, and about a cord of cut wood.” She nodded at him and shouted to the men to get wood.

“Honestly.” Bucky said, holding a bucket. “You can do more permanent fixes when we get back to harbor. For now all you need is a little tree sap and more rope.”

Tony growled at him. “When I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it.” Bucky huffed but left the ship with the bucket anyway.

Pepper came up behind him. “He’s not wrong you know.”

Tony sighed. “Just stay with the ship,” he responded and leapt from the rail and onto the beach.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bucky pushed his way through the island foliage looking for a suitable tree. Behind him, he could hear Tony forcing his way as well.

“I did say thank you! This is what this is about, isn’t it?” Tony shouted after him.

“No. This is about fixing the ship.” Bucky grinned as he found a tree he knew was perfect for his purpose. “You’re right that I caused most of the damage, so I’m going to help fix it. It’s not my fault that our methods differ.” He pulled a knife from his belt and sliced into the tree allowing the sticky sap to seep out and fill his bucket. Once it was full, he heaved it up and started making his way back to the ship.

“Differ, right.” Tony snorted. “You’re just putting a bandaid on the bigger problem. Typical diplomat.”

“Excuse me?” Bucky turned around to glare at Tony.

Tony shrugged. “I’m just saying. I’ve seen your type work before. All you care about is getting the apparent problem fixed as quickly as possible. You don’t care what corners get cut or who gets shoved under the carpet to get it done either.”

Bucky growled at him. “You have no idea what I do.” 

“Oh I don’t?” Tony grinned. “You’re engaged to the prince of Marvel, aren’t you? Who did you have to push aside for that position, huh? Or was it based on auditions?”

Tony was pushing the line now. Bucky’s expression turned dark and his tone dangerous. “Auditions?”

“You know. You don’t get into a position like yours without meeting people. Doing favors. On your knees.” Tony smirked at him and turned around. “Seen it before, and you’re pretty, but not that pretty Barnes.”

Bucky growled and chucked the bucket of sap at Tony’s head. He grinned in satisfaction as he watched the gooey matter seep into Tony’s hair and dribble down his back.

Tony turned. “You did not just do that.”

Bucky smirked at him again, then frowned as Tony bent down to pick up a mound of the gloppiest mud he’d ever seen.

“No. Don’t you dare.” Bucky said right before Tony threw the muck at his face. Bucky wiped it off with a disgusted sound. “You borrish, pigheaded, scoundrel.” He growled, picking up a tree branch and chucking it at Tony’s head.

Tony dodged the branch and picked up a small rock, flicking it back at Bucky. “Try again, I’ve been called far worse.”

 

“You are hands down the most revolting person I have ever met. I can’t understand what Steve saw in you all those years ago.” 

“Ha! You wish you’d known me then! Maybe then you could have given me some of those favors and gotten into your position faster, huh? Not been quite so oppressed.” 

“I’ll show you oppressed.” Bucky growled, bending down to pull a large rock from the ground. He peeled it from the other rocks and lifted it over his head, walking towards Tony threateningly.

Tony just grinned at him as he walked forward. Bucky had almost reached him when the island rocked beneath them. Tony and Bucky looked around as the foliage started being sucked down into the ground around them, looking up, they saw a great, round light swing around from the far side of the island and hang over them.

“Put it back.” Tony whispered loudly. Bucky nodded and dropped the thin rock to the ground, laughing slightly.

Underneath them the ground split open, revealing a white substance underneath. Tony and Bucky were forced apart by it and lost their balance, falling into what was now the center of the white stuff. 

“Ugh.” Tony groaned, standing up and flinging goo from his hands. “What is this?”

Beneath them the white material moved, revealing a great, big blue eye.

“That’s not normal.” Bucky said, his own eyes wide.

“Run for it!” Tony shouted, then followed his own advice. Once they got off the eye they ran down the scaly sides of what they now knew was a fish. Around them, they could see the rest of the crew that had disembarked doing the same thing. Bucky looked behind them and could see the water rising up to cover the head of the fish, which was diving under the sea.

The ship, which they now could see had been moored along one of the fish’s fins, was being rocked by the waves caused by its movement. 

“Pepper!” Tony shouted. She looked up from her place at the helm and nodded, turning the ship to come alongside the fin. Tony pulled Bucky’s hand and jumped down the curve of the fin, now rising out of the water. The rest of the crew followed behind. Just as they reached the end of the fin, it propelled them into the air and onto the rigging of the ship. Tony swung down to the deck and looked back at the fish. He grinned when he saw the direction it was headed.

“Rhodey! Tie off the line!” Tony shouted and threw the loose end of a grappling hook at him. Bucky watched as Tony ran the length of the ship and threw the grapple at the giant fish. The end hooked solidly on one of the scales and Tony whooped in triumph before shouting as the line grew taut and started dragging the ship behind the fish.

The fish swam quickly. Faster than any ship could move on its own. The Iron Maiden rushed along in its wake, bouncing in the great waves caused by its tail.

Tony stood at the prow, holding onto a rope and whopping with glee. Bucky grinned, watching him. He looked carefree and happy, the wind rushing through his hair and moving faster than he ever had before. Truly, the sea was where that man belonged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After almost a full day of being dragged behind the giant fish, with the waves having maintained their ferocity, the crew was groaning. 

“Tony!” Bruce called. “The crew can’t take much more!” Surprisingly, Bruce seemed mostly unaffected by the ship’s movement.

“Yeah.” Tony groaned. “I can’t take much more either. Cut the line!”

Almost immediately someone cut the line from the fish. The ship slowed and rocked as the waves started to settle around them. The crew was almost all leaning against the rail over the sea, trying not to puke. None of them had been able to eat much while they were trailing the fish, and very few of them had gotten anything close to sleep. They were exhausted and miserable, but happy that the motion had finally ceased.

Tony groaned and sat down near the mast, rubbing a hand over his face. Bucky watched him and came over to sit down by him.

“Whose idea was that again?” Tony asked.

“I don’t know, but he owes me a few good meals.” Bucky responded. The two looked at each other and laughed before standing and looking around at where they were. They were surrounded by great stone ruins of a once great castle.

“The Granite Gates.” Tony grinned. “We’re almost there, Barnes.”

“I think you know me well enough to call me Bucky now.” Bucky grinned. “You know, I never thought that we would get this far. Steve did though.”

Tony smiled sadly. “Steve has too much faith.”

Bucky hummed. “He does.” He looked curiously at Tony. “How did you two meet?” he asked.

Tony laughed. “It was at one of those fancy banquets. I was young, probably about seven, and my... “ he swallowed. “My father wanted me to be quiet. There was an important guest that night. I didn’t listen, of course and went and hid under one of the refreshment tables so I could sneak some food. After I’d been there for awhile I heard a bit of a commotion. I looked out and on the other side of the table there was a group of boys surrounding someone. It was Steve. He was the skinniest thing back then.”

Bucky smiled at Tony’s grin. It was a good memory. “He never told me that.”

“Nah, he wouldn’t. It embarrassed him for the longest time. He had a growth spurt later. A big one.” Tony laughed then shook his head. “Anyway, the boys were teasing him for being small and Steve didn’t like that so he said something clever. I forget what it was, but the other boys started pushing him at that point. I wasn’t big then either, but I jumped on one of their backs anyway and started fighting with Steve, and boy did we fight! We both got beat all to hell, but we beat the bigger boys anyway. We both got a talking to after that, but it was worth it. We were best friends after that.”

Bucky grinned, then thought of something and frowned. “What happened?”

Tony’s own smile faded from his face. “We, uh. Went separate ways. He was proclaimed heir and I… well. I didn’t get along with my dad. At one point something happened and I left. That’s pretty much it.” Tony stood up and began to walk away.

“Oh.” Bucky reached out and opened his mouth as if to say more, but decided against it, letting Tony walk away.

The ship sailed slowly into the Granite Gates, carefully avoiding areas where the structure had crumbled and let great rocks fall into the water to block the way. A cold wind blew and the crew watched, mouths open, as the water began to freeze beneath them.

“Hurry! Loose oars! Get us out of here!” Tony shouted. The crew tried to follow his instructions, but by the time they pulled the oars from where they were stowed and put them in the water it was frozen solid and the ship was stuck in place.

Tony swore then ordered his crew down onto the ice to start breaking it up. 

Everyone got dressed in their warm clothes quickly to try and stave off the cold before leaping off the ship and down to the ice. They held pick axes and shovels, trying to break the ice apart. I

It was slow going. The ice was hard and the wind buffeted them with a sprinkling of snow, minimizing visibility and bringing the temperature down further.

Clint muttered from where he was picking at the ice. “Steal the Book of Peace, he said. Retire to the tropics, he said. This ain’t no tropics!” He growled and attacked the ice with greater fury.

Back on the ship, Bucky was trying to help Tony and Pepper prevent their supplies from freezing, or defrost what was already frozen. Everything had gotten soaked when they had been dragged behind the giant fish, and all that water was solidifying in the cold air.

“Damn that Loki.” Tony cursed. “This has got to be his doing.”

Bucky looked at him quizzically, then turned when a shout rose up from the crew on the ice. 

Bucky leapt to his feet and looked out at the water around them. He couldn’t see much, thanks to the snow, but there was a dark shape visible moving very quickly around the ship, then disappearing as quickly as it came.

“Everyone back on the ship!” Tony shouted. The crew started moving quickly, running as fast as they could over the slick ice. Tony stayed at the side of the ship to help everyone back on board. 

Bucky looked over and saw Clint, the farthest crew member, running to the ship. Behind him, the dark shape finally came close enough to see. A giant bird, diving straight for Clint, with its claws outstretched. 

“Clint! Watch out!” Bucky yelled. Clint screamed and dove into the water in the one place where they’d managed to break through. The bird missed him by inches and flew away again. Clint surfaced, gasping, and grabbed onto a floating piece of ice.

Bucky turned around and grabbed a rope. Jumping up onto the rail, he tossed one end of it into the water to Clint. “Grab on!” he shouted. He waited for Clint to get a good grip, then started pulling. 

Bucky was so focused on getting Clint out of the water that he didn’t hear the others shouting at him until it was too late. He turned just as the wind whooshed behind him and the birds great claws wrapped around his body, tearing him from the ship. He could see Tony beneath him, reaching out towards his hand as the bird flew higher and higher until it landed up at the top of the ruins.

It dropped him as it landed and before the bird could turn around, Bucky started running. The bird lunged and trapped Bucky under its claws against the ground. It leaned down to grab Bucky in its beak but only grabbed his jacket. As the bird pulled back, Bucky shrugged his jacket off and fell to the ground. 

The bird was only distracted for a moment, but it was enough for Bucky to find a small bit of cover where the ice had formed a small hollow behind a rock. He wrapped his arms around himself and grimaced. 

He was hundreds of feet in the air, freezing, and he had no weapons whatsoever. Great.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony tied off the rope that wrapped around his feet. The blade of a knife now protruded from each of his feet. He grinned and turned to Natasha while he slung a large, round shield over his shoulder.

“Don’t let those ice blocks freeze.” Tony ordered. “And keep trying to dig us out.” She nodded and jumped back off the boat, pick axe in hand.

Tony smiled and turned to Rhodey. “Rhodey!”

“Yes captain?” Rhodey asked.

“Come here and give me a hug?” Tony grinned when Rhodey just rolled his eyes, smiled, and opened his arms for him. Tony reached around his friend and pulled Rhodey’s knives from his belt.

Tony laughed at Rhodey’s expression and held tightly to the rope connected to the harpoon he’d shoved into his modified cannon. Placing his foot on the detonator he called, “Wish me luck!” before stomping down and letting it launch him into the air.

Tony flew through the air, yanked after the harpoon. It buried itself about three quarters of the way up the tower that the bird had landed on. Tony groaned as he face planted into the snowy surface. Slowly, he shook snow from his face and started moving, one limb at a time, up the tower.

It was slow going, but Tony finally made it up over the ridge. He could see the bird digging at the snow. Off to one side Bucky’s coat laid in tatters. He looked around hopefully and finally caught sight of a shadow moving on the protected side of one of the rocks. He crawled over that way and joined Bucky in the small space.

“Hey.” Tony said softly.

Bucky turned around quickly, grinning when he saw Tony. “Hey.” he responded. “Came to rescue me?”

“Didn’t want the bird to have the satisfaction of eating you for dinner.” Tony grinned in response.

“Great.” Bucky rubbed his hands over his arms. “So how are we going to get down?”

Tony’s face fell. “Uh, well. I hadn’t exactly thought that far.”

Bucky raised an eyebrow at him. “Seriously? Okay, what have we got to work with?”

Tony shrugged and pulled out his knife.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Bucky said flatly.

“Hey! In the hands of an expert a knife can be an excellent tool!” Tony said, slightly offended. He began twisting the knife around his hand, flinging it into the air. He underestimated the small space though, because the knife pierced straight into the ice above them and it cracked ominously before shattering.

The bird turned, hearing the ice crack before it saw them and screeched, running after them.

Bucky glared at Tony before pulling him to his feet and running. The edge of the tower came up quickly, the opposite one from the one Tony had climbed up. Bucky grimaced, but kept running full tilt as they reached the edge.

The ground disappeared beneath them for a moment. Tony pulled Bucky into his arms and swung the shield from his back and underneath them. On this side, the tower had a much less steep angle and the shield slipped down the icy surface easily. Tony grinned at Bucky and leaned to the side, guiding the shield around stone protruding from the snow.

Above them they could hear the bird screeching. Bucky leaned sharply to the left, dragging Tony with him and they careened into a heavily rocky area, having to turn frequently to avoid crashing into the ruins. 

“Do you think we lost it?!” Bucky shouted, looking around.

The bird crashed through the ruins ahead of them.

“Nope!” Tony responded and looked around, they were headed right for the bird. “Lean right!” he called. 

Bucky followed his example and they shot around the bird and through an opening in the ruins. Ahead of them the ice dropped down at a sharp angle. Bucky planted his booted foot against the ground and the shield slowed to a stop. The two looked at each other and started laughing, relieved.

They grinned, until the rock creaked behind them and shattered as the bird crashed through.

Tony grimaced before shoving them off the edge. 

The shield slid uncontroably down the ice shoot and through the ruins. The bird was, again, right behind them. Bucky looked around quickly for a way out. He spotted light coming from some windows to the side. Quickly, he grabbed the knife from Tony’s belt and shoved it into the ice below them. Their momentum pulled them to the side until Bucky pulled the knife from the ice and they shot towards the windows. 

The bird tried to change direction behind them, and in the more confined space it had to crouch down, running instead of flying as it chased them. It began knocking pillars out of its way, moving faster and faster. Right before it caught up to them, the structure gave a groan and started to collapse, a large section of rock falling on the bird’s head and pinning it in place.

Bucky and Tony cheered as they careened through the window. They were a ways up from the boat still, but as they fell, the wind blew and they crashed into the sail. It ripped as they dropped, and deposited them safely to the deck.

“There.” Tony grinned. “Told you the knife would be useful.” Tony huffed, a little out of breath.

Bucky, who had landed under him laughed quietly and looked up. Tony caught his eye and the light filtering through the sail illuminated them in a soft glow. Bucky grinned and leaned forward, just a little. Tony started to lean down towards him, but as he did the sail was torn away from them.

“Bucky!” The crew cheered excitedly. 

Tony pulled away from Bucky, blushing a little. Stupid. He told himself. He’s engaged. Don’t be an idiot, Stark.

Tony stood up as the crew started fawning over Bucky. He saw a few coins trade hands and he grinned.

“Oh I’m fine. Really.” Tony said. “I’m touched by how worried you all were.” he raised an eyebrow at his crew. 

They all laughed at him, then turned as they heard the ice tower creak. They all watched as the tower started to fall, ice and stone tumbling down. When it crashed into the water, the ice surrounding the ship cracked and shattered, leaving a path straight out to the open ocean again. 

The crew cheered in excitement.


	5. Destination

Bucky looked up to where Tony was steering the ship. He sighed and walked up to him. 

“Thank you, for coming to rescue me.” Bucky said quietly.

Tony turned to look at him. “I.. uh.” he paused. “You’re welcome.”

Bucky smiled. “This suits you.”

Tony laughed. “Yeah. I’ve always loved it out here. Wind in my face and ship under my feet.” he grinned. “What about you? Do you prefer the land or the sea?”

Bucky shrugged. “I love the sea. Love being out here on the water. Never really got to be out here before though. First I was in the army in Zima.” He looked sideways at Tony. “That’s how I got my position, by the way. Not by sleeping around.” 

Tony laughed. “And after that?”

“After that, I had a high enough position that I had to worry about other things. And now I have responsibilities that I have to keep in mind. I gave up on the dream of the sea a long time ago.” Bucky paused and smiled slightly. “This has been nice though.”

Tony frowned. “Doesn’t seem fair to have to give up what you what for what other people want.”

Bucky shrugged. “That’s the way life works sometimes. We’ve just got to deal with it. If I can help others though, it will be worth it. And Steve’s not so bad. We’re friends at least, so it will work out.”

Tony shrugged. “I guess.”

“What about you. Is this the life you always dreamed of?” Bucky asked.

Tony laughed. “Not even close.”

“Then what?” Bucky’s tone was gentle and open, inviting.

Tony sighed. “My father was an inventor. Everyone knows that. The thing that most people don’t know is that most of his inventions weren’t his. They were mine.” Bucky frowned at him and opened his mouth as if to ask another question. Tony answered before he could. “I didn’t tell anyone because I was young. He told me that no one would care, that if they knew I had designed it then they would laugh in my face. He laughed in my face too, a lot of the time. Then he’d take the patterns and change them, just a little, and pass them off as his own original designs.”

“Tony, that’s…” Bucky started.

“Messed up?” Tony grimaced. “Yeah, I know.” He stretched his shoulder out. “Anyway. That went on for years. I decided that I didn’t care, really. Until a few things happened at once. I’d been working on a design for something that would completely change the world, Peace in our time.”

Bucky gasped. “You don’t mean…”

“Yeah.” Tony smiled. “The Book of Peace was originally designed by me.” He shrugged. “Dad stole the plans and presented them to the council. They adored the idea and told him to start building it right away. That night, dad was going to have me cast the spells for the Book, and I was going to, except there was one other thing that happened that night.” 

Tony took a deep breath before continuing. “Everyone knew that King Fury was going to declare his heir, and that night there was a great celebration held. My dad had put in every effort to make the King choose me. That’s why he’d presented my plans too. But, when the announcement came, the King chose Steve. I was ecstatic for him, but my dad…. Well, he was not. That night he got drunk, which wasn’t uncommon, but then he beat me so hard I almost passed out. I left the next morning while he was sleeping and brought Jarvis, Pepper, and Rhodey with me. I’ve never looked back since.”

Bucky looked at Tony, hunched now from remembering. He walked forward and wrapped his arms around him. They stood like that for a moment until Tony shoved him off.

“A few years later, I got news that he’d died while making the book. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard.” Tony grinned bitterly. “I got a glimpse of it on Steve’s ship. He make it wrong. It could do so much more than it does, but Howard never paid full attention to my plans. I could fix it. That’s why I wanted to steal it in the first place.” He paused. “Well…. I wanted the ransom too, but I also wanted to see it, see if I could improve it. One last middle finger to my father you know.” Tony huffed a laugh, then shrugged it off.

Bucky opened his mouth to reply, but he was interrupted by the sky blazing into color in front of them. Stars shot across the sky to join the star that was guiding them and behind them the sky became black. Ahead of them an enormous crack split the sky, two black, stone like, towers rose above them and a bright light spilled from between them, illuminating the darkness around them. The rest of the crew rushed out to see what was going on and they all stood and stared. 

“Clint! Give me a look out!” Tony shouted and Clint hopped into the rigging, climbing into the crows nest.

It was silent for a minute too long. “Clint!” Tony yelled.

“It just ends, Captain! It’s the edge of the world!” came the response.

“The Gates of Tartarus.” Tony muttered to himself, looking around the ship. “Past the horizon.”

The crew stood, waiting for his orders. Tony stared at the flags and grinned before jumping down to the deck and yelling. 

“Crew! Free all sheets and go to your posts! Wait for my command!” The crew stared at him for half a second before moving quickly. “Clint!” he shouted.

“Aye, Captain?” 

“Rig the main yard to the fore sail!” Tony shouted up to him.

“But that will stop us dead!” Clint protested.

“Just do it!”

“Aye, aye, Captain.” Clint said then hurried to follow orders, moving quickly through the rigging and over the sails. 

The crew hurried to follow Tony’s orders as he shouted them. None of them made much sense, but they did them anyway. As they worked, the sails pulled up parallel to each other on the mast.

The ship kept moving with the current towards the edge where the water vanished. The dark gates loomed larger ahead of them.

As they reached the edge, Tony shouted back. “Hold on tight!”

The bow of the ship made its way past the edge and the ship started to fall. As the winds grew higher and higher, the sails caught and billowed upwards, harnessing the air in a way similar to, and yet completely different from their original purpose. The force brought the ship to a halt, then, slowly, the ship began to rise and drift towards the open gates.

The crew cheered. Pepper ran across the deck and hugged Tony around the neck. “You did it!”

Tony laughed. “I can’t believe that worked!” 

Bucky looked at him with the biggest grin on his face which Tony returned whole heartedly.

For a minute, everything looked like it would be fine. Until one of the ropes snapped. 

The ship groaned under the strain and their forward motion stopped. They were still floating, but not for much longer.

Tony hurriedly tied off their longest loose rope and walked over to Pepper and Rhodey, swinging his swords onto his back. “If I don’t make it, the ship is yours.” he said, smiling at them. “Treat her well.”

“Tony… what are you doing?” Pepper reached out towards him and Rhodey pulled him back.

“Be careful, Tones.” Rhodey said gently, nodding at him.

Tony nodded and turned to look at the gate. He tensed up when he felt someone come up behind him.

“I’m coming with you.” Bucky said, firmly. His sword was strapped back onto his hip.

Tony laughed and flung the rope up, it’s two loops falling around them both and tying them together. “Why did I see that coming?” he asked with a grin.

Bucky and Tony looked at the gate together and grinned before running and jumping off the other side of the ship. They swung down in a large arch before moving forward into the light streaming from the gate.

A second later, the empty rope fell back out and the crew gasped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony and Bucky fell quickly. Moving so fast they could barely see what was around them. Stars, something moving, flashes of color and changing temperatures. 

Below them, a vast sea of sand stretched as far as they could see. They closed their eyes as it drew closer, bracing for an impact that never came. They opened their eyes as they felt their downward motion slow, then stop before they were deposited none too gently, but not hard enough to wound them, onto the sand.

The sand rose up is waves around them, making it difficult to stand. Figures and ruins rose up out of the sand and disappeared as quickly as the sand itself moved.

Realm of Chaos indeed, Tony thought.

He held onto Bucky tightly, so even as the sand buffeted around them and caused them to slide down the great dunes they didn’t lose each other.

Eventually, they came to a stop on a large stone pillar. They stood, watching the sand move around them.

From above, great black figures dropped from the sky. Tony recognized the serpent he had fought with Steve, but now it was joined by a great wolf and a six-legged horse. They moved as if to attack and Tony and Bucky drew their swords, standing back to back to defend each other. 

“How adorable.” The voice sounded as if it were coming from all around them. “Leave them be, they are visitors after all, and we get so few of them.”

The shifted and rose into a twisting cyclone around them until the creatures were engulfed and they were alone. Beneath them, the ruins grew to show that they were now standing before a large, ancient, throne.

“Loki!” Tony called. “Show yourself!”

A figure walked out of the sand, and sat on the throne. “I commend you. Tony Stark. You are the first mortal to come willingly to my realm.”

Tony smirked. “Yeah. Well, I had some incentive.”

Loki laughed. “Ah yes, right. And what are you planning to do now that you have arrived?”

“Well, uh.” Shadows kept popping up in the sand storm around them and Tony was having a little trouble focusing. “We were hoping that we could just take the Book of Peace and get out of your hair.”

“And you think I have it?” Loki responded, leaning forward with a grin.

“Uh, yeah. You know, you framed me for stealing it, so they would kill me.” Tony moved his hands.

“Kill you?” Loki asked. “Now why would I want them to do that?” Loki smirked and disappeared from the throne, only to reappear in front of Tony and peel open his shirt, exposing the blue glow to the air. “I’m the one who saved you, remember?”

Tony gasped. “No. Not me. Steve. You knew he’d take my place.”

Loki chuckled. “See, there’s the clever mortal.”

“That idiot!” Tony groaned. “You thought I’d run. Then Steve would be executed and Marvel would be…”

“Left without its future King and the Book.” Loki interrupted. “What do you think happens after that?”

Bucky answered this time. “The Allied Kingdoms would break their treaties. Marvel would be despised for being the ones to lose the Book, and they would eventually attack. Famine, war, death. Everything would fall into…”

“Chaos.” Loki finished, grinning. “Exactly. You humans are so predictable. If one string is pulled everything falls apart so easily.”

“But wait.” Tony growled. “I haven’t betrayed Steve. I didn’t run away.”

“Oh yes you did. Look at you!” Loki laughed. “You’re already making moves on his fiance.” He cackled and shoved them into each other. “Absolutely adorable, you make a cute couple. But face it, your heart is as black as the night.”

“You’re wrong.” Bucky growled, bringing his sword around to point at Loki. “You have no idea what is in his heart.”

Loki laughed again. “No, I think I do. But let it not be said that Loki is an unfair God. We shall play a game, and you can prove to me whether you or I are correct. If you win, I shall give you the book.”

Tony grinned and turned to Bucky. Around them, Loki changed the scenery. They were now standing on a small sliver of land, floating above the nothingness. At the end of it floated the Book of Peace. Tony walked forward eagerly, but the path started to crumble beneath him.

“Stop.” Loki said tiredly. “I did say game, did I not? You must obey the rules.”

Tony growled. “What are they they?” he asked.

“Simple.” Loki replied, appearing next to Tony and singing and arm around his shoulder. “I shall ask one question. Answer truthfully and the book is yours. If you lie, however, I shall keep it.”

Tony nodded. “Alright. But give me your word.”

Loki glared at him, but agreed and crossed his chest again. “Very well. You have my word as a God. Are we agreed?”

“Bring it on.” Tony replied.

Loki smiled sharply and moved away from him. He walked over to the Book and opened it slightly before slamming it shut again. “If you get the Book of Peace you shall return back, save your friend and everything will return to the way it was. However, if you do not get the book then there is a choice before you. Sail away and live with the man you love, or return and be executed.” Tony gulped and Loki grinned at him. “Your question is this. If you do not get the Book, will you return to die?” Loki moved back and faded into the still swirling vortex of sand

Tony turned to look at Bucky, then turned to the Book. He bit his lip and thought before nodding. “I would go back,” he said simply then stepped forward.

The ground held beneath him and Tony grinned. He stepped forward again, and almost reached the Book before the ground started to crumble beneath him. 

Loki’s laughter echoed around them. “You lie.” he said and the the word echoed in Tony’s head as the ground crumbled away and he and Bucky fell.

Lie

Lie

Lie

Lie

LIAR

The air around them grew dark and misty until they hit ground and the mist faded away. Tony looked up and he could see the edge of the world and the Gates of Tartarus before them once more. As they watched, the light faded and the gates closed.

Tony sat down on the small, stony island and put his face in his hands. “I’m sorry, Bucky.” he said quietly.

Bucky looked at him. “You didn’t lie.”

“Yes I did.” Tony responded. “I’ve tried to be something I’m not. I tried. And it just didn’t work. That’s it. Game over.”

“I know who you are, and you are not a liar.” Bucky said fervently.

“My whole life is a lie!” Tony snarled. “I ran away. I always run away!” Tony sighed and Bucky watched his whole demeanor fall. “I’m not worth it, Bucky.”

“No! I’ll go back and explain everything. No one should have to die. Yousail as far away as you can.” Bucky grabbed his shoulder. “I love you, you idiot. I can’t just sit there and watch them kill you.”

Tony smiled at him. “You’re marrying Steve.” he said quietly. 

As they stood there, Tony saw the ship coming towards them and he sighed. “Let’s get you home. I won’t run anymore.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the sun rose on the eleventh day after the Iron Maiden had left Marvel’s waters, the whole city was gathered together. Everyone waited with bated breath as the first light illuminated the sky.

Steve Rogers walked calmly to the stone block set overlooking the ocean. Even those sentenced to die deserved to see beauty one last time in the world. His hands were clenched tightly at his side as he knelt down before the executioner’s block. He laid his head down and next to him, a man dressed in black lifted a large axe into the air.

The city waited with bated breath as the executioner held his position before beginning the downswing. Just as the axe started to come down, something whistled through the air. An arrow struck the axe’s handle, just below the head, and sheared it clean off, to tumble to the ground in front of Steve with a metallic clatter.

Steve looked out at the ocean and saw Tony and his crew climbing up in front of him.

“Looks like you thought I wouldn’t make it.” Tony laughed and walked up to embrace Steve. “I’m sorry,” he whispered in his ear.

Steve pulled back. “What?”

“I tried my hardest to get the Book.” Tony said simply. “It wasn’t enough.”

“And you came back anyway.” Steve said, his eyes widening. “Why?”

Tony smiled at him. “I couldn’t let you die, idiot.” Tony embraced him again, then turned to face the executioner. Behind him, he could hear people muttering but he drowned it out as he walked towards the stone block. Slowly, he knelt before it. He took a moment to gaze out onto the sea, his sea. The only place he had ever called his own. He took the sight of the rising sun painting the water colors one last time, then closed his eyes and laid his head on the stone.

Once again, the executioner raised his weapon. This time, a large sword moved into the air. The silver metal reflected the light of the sun. He pulled back, then swung forward.

Just as the blade was about to reach Tony’s throat, the metal shattered, tiny pieces floating around Tony.

Tony opened his eyes and gasped, watching the metal.

“What the hell?” Tony watched as the metal began to spin, faster and faster, flinging outward. Beyond, the sea churned and a massive cyclone of water rose from the depths.

Tony stepped back from the edge and everyone behind him gasped and screamed as the water exploded into mist and an enormous figure appeared.

“You sneaky, little, mortal. How dare you!” Loki shouted.

“Loki!” Tony gaped. “I don’t understand.”

Loki grasped the executioner’s block and crumbled the stone to rubble in his palm. “Do not play games with me, mortal. I am very much not in the mood.” He gripped the stone of the courtyard. “You may have fooled everyone here with that performance, but you and I both know that at your heart you are a liar.”

Tony gasped. “But I didn’t lie.” he realized. “I came back! That’s why you’re here!”

Loki glared at him, his expression stormy, but Tony continued. “This was all part of your question. I didn’t lie, and now you’re bound to your promise.”

Loki’s expression darkened further, and he brought his enormous fist down as if he were going to crush Tony, but couldn’t. His fist came down and opened, revealing the Book of Peace. Tony grinned as he took it out of Loki’s grasp.

“Thank you very much.” Tony said with a grin.

Loki’s expression didn’t change. “We shall meet again, mortal. You shall not fare so well the next time. You still have my mark on you, after all.” Loki poked Tony in the chest.

“Sure sure.” Tony said and Loki smirked at him before he vanished, taking the watery mist with him. 

The light of the rising sun once again flooded the courtyard as Tony held the book. Looking up at the sky he grinned for a moment before he looked down at the Book his father had made. 

Tony turned to the people watching and grinned. “You know,” he said. “This book was never finished.” he could see Bucky in the crowd, and enormous grin on his face. “My father made this book, but he never saw the completed plans, because I made those. The book was never just made to sign treaties, it was made to make the world a better place for everyone!” Tony laughed at the shocked faces before him.

With a grin on his face, Tony pulled his vest open, exposing his chest and the glowing circle on it. He touched two of his fingers to the symbol and the blue light spread to them. Tony opened the Book, allowing the light to flow from it and fill the Kingdoms once again.He turned to the page directly in the middle and used the light from his fingers to start drawing runes. As he finished the last one, he waved his hand over it, allowing the Book to absorb the new information. The Book shuddered in his hands for a moment before he felt the magic heave and expel outwards. It rushed in a great wave, filling all the lands that had agreed to its terms. Tony looked out at the land and saw the plants already begin to look fuller, more healthy. He could feel the magic coursing through him and he knew everyone else could feel it as well. It was a heady feeling.

After a moment of silence, a great cheer rose up from those watching. Tony grinned and held the book above his head. The magic swelled again and pulsed outwards. That would continue for some time, until the land had adjusted to the new upwelling of fertility and prosperity magic that Tony had added to it.

As the cheering quieted down, Steve approached Tony. “You know… I think they believe you now,” he laughed.

Tony looked over to where the council stood, now in complete disarray from Loki’s arrival and Tony’s magical display. “Yeah. I think so,” he replied.

King Fury stepped forward and Tony handed him the Book with a grin. 

“These kingdoms owe you a great debt, Anthony Stark.” Fury said. He wasn’t smiling, but then, Tony had never known the man to smile anyway.

“You bet.” Tony grinned. “I take payment in gold and gems.”

“We’ll see to it that you and your crew are suitably rewarded.” Fury answered. Tony grinned at him and watched as he and the council walked back inside the palace.

Steve walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Come inside. Everyone will want to hear about your adventures.” He grinned.

Tony huffed a short laugh. “Not much to tell, honestly.”

“I doubt that.” Steve said, concern leaking into his voice. “I’ve never known you to not take the chance to be the center of attention.”

“No. Really. I just, uh.” Tony hesitated. “I told the crew that we’d retire and I know they’re anxious to get a move on.”

“Right,” Steve said. “Best not disappoint them then.”

“Yep.”

Steve pulled Tony into a last hug. “Thank you again.”

“Anytime.” Tony responded, hugging him back.

After Steve finally let him go, Tony walked away towards his ship. The people still watching began to applaud and cheer once again as the crew followed behind them.

The only one not applauding, Steve noticed, was Bucky who turned and walked away in the opposite direction from Tony and his crew. Steve walked quickly after him.

“Hey punk.” Steve said, coming up behind Bucky.

Bucky turned. “Steve, hey. That sure was something, huh.” 

“Yep. Definitely something.” Steve responded, he looked at Bucky for a moment and grinned. “Looks like you found something too, huh?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Bucky said, but Steve knew him well enough by now that he could hear the pain in his voice.

“Yeah you do. And it’s okay. Don’t worry about me, okay. I belong here. And you never have.” Steve pulled Bucky into a hug. “This arrangement was never for love. We both agreed because we’re friends. But you found someone you do love, and I won’t hold you back from it.” 

Bucky held tightly to Steve for a moment before pulling back. “Promise you won’t do something stupid while I’m gone?”

“How can I when you’re taking all the stupid with you?” Steve replied with a laugh. “Just make sure you come back and visit.”

Bucky nodded before turning and grabbing his bag again. He disappeared down the hall without looking back and Steve laughed. Those two idiots deserved each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony leaned against the railing and looked out at the open ocean. He sighed, the view didn’t bring him as much joy as it usually did.

“Captain!” Rhodey called behind him. 

“What is it?” He yelled back. 

“We’ve got someone asking to come aboard.”

Tony turned around to see Bucky standing on the deck, his pack slung over his shoulder again. Tony grinned, his eyes wide. “Well, what do you want?” he called.

“Permission to come aboard, Captain?” Bucky asked with a grin. 

“Seems you’re already here.” Tony replied. “Where you headed?”

“Don’t much care, where. Only thing that matters is who with.” Bucky’s grin widened. “Got room for one more?”

“I think that could be arranged.” Tony replied. “Charges can be steep though.”

“Do I have to pay in cash? Or do other forms of payment count?” Bucky asked.

Tony walked forward towards him, stopping a few feet away. “Other forms like what?”

“I think I can think of something.” Bucky replied and stepped forward enough to pull Tony into a kiss. 

Around them the rest of the crew cheered. Some money exchanged hands and Clint gagged, but laughed right after. 

Tony pulled away after a moment. “Yeah, that’ll work,” he said with a stupidly big grin on his face. He turned to look at Rhodey. “Are we ready to set sail?”

“Aye, Captain.” Rhodey responded.

“Then cast off! We’ve got a long voyage ahead!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was so fun to write! It was a privilege to be part of the WinterIron Spring Fling and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to write this prompt! I hope you all enjoyed the story!
> 
> I do have a few ideas to continue this universe if anyone is interested, so I might be doing that. If you'd like to keep an eye out I'll add it to a collection with this story.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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